Understanding the surrounding effects on Raman optical activity signatures of a chiral cage system: Cryptophane-PP-111.

Cryptophane molecules are cage-like structures consisting in two hemispheres, each made of three benzene rings. These hemispheres are bound together with three O(CH)Olinkers of various lengths giving rise to a plethora of cryptophane derivatives. Moreover, they are able to encapsulate neutral guests: CHCl, CHCl, …; and charged species: Cs, Tl, ….

Vascular access as a survival factor for the hemodialysis population: a retrospective study.

Background: The creation of vascular access is an essential condition for providing hemodialysis, which remains the only option for most patients suffering from end-stage renal disease. Selection of the type of vascular access affects patients' clinical outcomes, access maintenance frequency, risk of infection and major adverse cardiac events during dialysis. To improve the decision-making process, we performed a retrospective clinical data analysis of dialyzed patients and critically compared the survival rates between two types of vascular access applied during dialysis therapy during a 5 years follow-up period.

Development and validation of the neighborhood environment walkability scale for youth across six continents.

Background: The IPEN International Physical Activity and Environment Network Adolescent project was conducted using common study protocols to document the strength, shape, and generalizability of associations of perceived neighborhood environment attributes with adolescents' physical activity and overweight/obesity using data from 15 countries. Countries did not use identical versions of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for Youth (NEWS-Y) to measure perceived neighborhood environment attributes. Therefore, this study derived a measurement model for NEWS-Y items common to all IPEN Adolescent countries and developed a scoring protocol for the IPEN Adolescent version of the NEWS-Y (NEWS-Y-IPEN) that maximizes between-country comparability of responses.

Electrocardiographic evidence of abnormal atrial phenotype in Brugada syndrome.

Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited ion channelopathy that may predispose affected individuals to atrial cardiomyopathy. We tested the hypothesis that BrS patients have higher degrees of atrial electrophysiological abnormalities compared to controls, and these can be reflected by changes in P-wave parameters determined on the electrocardiogram (ECG).

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study comparing BrS patients to age- and gender-matched control subjects.

The Association Between Physical Activity and General Life Satisfaction in Lower Secondary School Students: The Role of Individual and Family Factors.

The objective of the paper was to investigate the association between PA and general life satisfaction in adolescents, taking into account family affluence and selected psychological, family and school factors. The survey (2015) involved 4085 Polish lower-secondary school students. Life satisfaction was measured with the abridged Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS).

An anatomical subunit-based outcome assessment scale for bilateral cleft lip and palate.

As there is currently no internationally accepted outcome measurement tool available for complete bilateral cleft lip and palate (CBCLP), the goal of this prospective study was to develop a numerical evaluation scale that allows reliable scoring of this cleft deformity. Our cohort comprised 121 Indian subjects with CBCLP who underwent surgical repair (mean age at time of surgery 6.53 months) using a modified Millard technique.

Personal and perceived peer use and attitudes towards the use of nonmedical prescription stimulants to improve academic performance among university students in seven European countries.

Background: Overestimations of non-prescribed stimulant use of peers are well documented in the USA and have also been identified as predictive of personal stimulant consumption. This study aimed to examine whether overestimations of peer use and approval of the use are associated with personal use and attitude towards the use of non-prescribed stimulants among European university students.

Method: The EU funded 'Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE (SNIPE)' study was conducted in seven European countries.

Normative Perceptions of Cannabis Use Among European University Students: Associations of Perceived Peer Use and Peer Attitudes With Personal Use and Attitudes.

Objective: Perceptions of peer behavior and attitudes exert considerable social pressure on young adults to use substances. This study investigated whether European students perceive their peers' cannabis use and approval of cannabis use to be higher than their own personal behaviors and attitudes, and whether estimations of peer use and attitudes are associated with personal use and attitudes.

Method: University students (n = 4,131) from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom completed an online survey as part of the Social Norms Intervention for Polysubstance usE in students (SNIPE) Project, a feasibility study of a web-based normative feedback intervention for substance use.

Sedimentary record and anthropogenic pollution of a complex, multiple source fed dam reservoirs: An example from the Nové Mlýny reservoir, Czech Republic.

While numerous studies of dam reservoirs contamination are reported world-wide, we present a missing link in the study of reservoirs sourced from multiple river catchments. In such reservoirs, different point sources of contaminants and variable composition of their sedimentary matrices add to extremely complex geochemical patterns. We studied a unique, step-wise filled Nové Mlýny dam reservoir, Czech Republic, which consists of three interconnected sub-basins.

Multidrug resistance-associated protein 4 (MRP4) controls ganciclovir intracellular accumulation and contributes to ganciclovir-induced neutropenia in renal transplant patients.

Ganciclovir (GCV) is the cornerstone of cytomegalovirus prevention and treatment in transplant patients. It is associated with problematic adverse hematological effects in this population of immunosuppressed patients, which may lead to dose reduction thus favoring resistance. GCV crosses the membranes of cells, is activated by phosphorylation, and then stops the replication of viral DNA.

Quantification of Trunk Postural Stability Using Convex Polyhedron of the Time-Series Accelerometer Data.

Techniques to quantify postural stability usually rely on the evaluation of only two variables, that is, two coordinates of COP. However, by using three variables, that is, three components of acceleration vector, it is possible to describe human movement more precisely. For this purpose, a single three-axis accelerometer was used, making it possible to evaluate 3D movement by use of a novel method, convex polyhedron (CP), together with a traditional method, based on area of the confidence ellipse (ACE).

Antiviral activities of 2,6-diaminopurine-based acyclic nucleoside phosphonates against herpesviruses: In vitro study results with pseudorabies virus (PrV, SuHV-1).

Pseudorabies virus (PrV), a causative agent of Aujeszky's disease, is deadly to most mammals with the exception of higher primates and men. This disease causes serious economic loses among farm animals, especially pigs, yet many European countries are today claimed to be Aujeszky's disease free because of the discovery of an efficient vaccination for pigs. In reality, the virus is still present in wild boar.

Unraveling the performance of dispersion-corrected functionals for the accurate description of weakly bound natural polyphenols.

Long-range non-covalent interactions play a key role in the chemistry of natural polyphenols. We have previously proposed a description of supramolecular polyphenol complexes by the B3P86 density functional coupled with some corrections for dispersion. We couple here the B3P86 functional with the D3 correction for dispersion, assessing systematically the accuracy of the new B3P86-D3 model using for that the well-known S66, HB23, NCCE31, and S12L datasets for non-covalent interactions.

Normative misperceptions of tobacco use among university students in seven European countries: baseline findings of the 'Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE' study.

Introduction: Research conducted in North America suggests that students tend to overestimate tobacco use among their peers. This perceived norm may impact personal tobacco use. It remains unclear how these perceptions influence tobacco use among European students.

Assessment of postural stability in patients with cerebellar disease using gyroscope data.

This study examines a relatively new method of studying and quantifying human postural stability in patients with degenerative cerebellar disease. Trunk sway and feet sway were measured during quiet stance. To test the method, ten patients and eleven healthy subjects performed two different stance tasks: standing with eyes open on a firm surface and standing with eyes closed on a foam support surface.

Personal and Perceived Peer Use of and Attitudes Toward Alcohol Among University and College Students in Seven EU Countries: Project SNIPE.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of peer substance use and related attitudes among European students. Challenging perceptions about peer substance use has become the basis of a form of prevention and intervention known as the social norms approach, which can be delivered using personalized online feedback. This article reports baseline alcohol use and attitudes data for university students across Europe collected as part of the Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE project (Project SNIPE).

Live microscopy analysis of endosomes and vesicles in tip-growing root hairs.

Tip growth is one of the most preferable models in the study of plant cell polarity; cell wall deposition is restricted mainly to a certain area of the cell, and cell expansion at this specific area leads to the development of tubular outgrowth. Tip-growing root hairs are well-established systems for such studies, because their lateral position within the root makes them easily accessible for experimental approaches and microscopic observations. Fundamental structural and molecular processes driving tip growth are exocytosis, endocytosis, and all aspects of vesicular and endosomal dynamic trafficking, as related to targeted membrane flow.

Illicit substance use among university students from seven European countries: a comparison of personal and perceived peer use and attitudes towards illicit substance use.

Objective: To compare European students' personal use and approval of illicit substance use with their perceptions of peer behaviours and attitudes, and investigate whether perceptions of peer norms are associated with personal use of illicit substances and attitudes.

Method: This study used baseline data from the Social Norms Intervention for the prevention of Polydrug usE (SNIPE) project involving 4482 students from seven European countries in 2012. Students completed an online survey which included questions on personal and perceived peer illicit substance use and personal and perceived peer attitude towards illicit substances.

Differences in evaluation methods of trunk sway using different MoCap systems.

The position of the trunk can be negatively influenced by many diseases. Several methods can be used for identifying defects in balance and coordination as a result of pathology of the musculoskeletal or nervous system. The aim of this article is to examine the relationship between the three methods used for analysis of trunk sway and compare two fundamentally different MoCap systems.

Complement system in SLE as a target for antibodies.

SLE is characterized by overproduction of various types of autoantibodies. Under certain circumstances, antibodies targeting some of the neoepitopes of the complement system can be seen. The most studied among antibodies directed against a component of the complement system is anti-C1q.

Four ultrasound and clinical pictures of parathyroid carcinoma.

Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. It may be suspected based on severe clinical signs, significant laboratory findings, and the tumor size. High-resolution ultrasonography with Doppler imaging has become the principal imaging method in the preoperative diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Evaluation of day one embryo quality and IVF outcome--a comparison of two scoring systems.

Background: The aim of our retrospective study was to compare the clinical usefulness of two non-invasive embryo scoring systems based either on a simplified pronuclear morphology of the zygote or on early cleavage rate, as well as their combination, for the selection of embryos with the best implantation potential in embryo transfer (ET).

Methods: Over a period of five years, the quality of 2708 embryos from 364 IVF cycles in women under the age of 39 years was assessed using these scoring systems in a university assisted reproduction centre. ET was always performed on day 3 of cultivation.

C1q complement component and -antibodies reflect SLE activity and kidney involvement.

The role of the complement system in the pathogenesis of systemic diseases is very ambivalent. In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), many abnormalities in the activation of the complement system have been reported. The most important antibodies formed against the complement system in SLE are the ones associated with the C1q component.